In the Stacks
Books designated "large type" have a larger font size, making them easier to read. The Juneau Public Libraries have many large type books, and we can borrow titles we don't own from libraries outside of Juneau - just ask us!

Simply not true
In reference to Karen McCarthy's letter "Alaska's brain drain" (June 14), I would like to correct a few of the assumptions she made in the letter. What Lt. Gov. Fran Ulmer disputed were the accusations by Frank Murkowski that 35,000 kids have fled the state. That is simply not true.

Simple decision
This fall, the Alaska Constitution orders that we be asked if we want a constitutional convention.

Have to wonder
The annual Sealaska meeting is over. Once again the same old directors were put back in place. How?

Police and Fire
Reports from Juneau police, fire officials and state troopers.

Family caps 50-state trek with Juneau
For the Elrod family, it's 50 states down - and thousands of countries to go.
The family of four from Marietta, Ga., - father Jim, mother MaryAnn and children Amy and Ricky - decided in 1993 that they would visit all 50 state capitols as part of a homeschooling project. Juneau, the last on their list, was checked off Friday afternoon.

Unity picnic
Eight-year-old Zebadiah Bodine, right, and his brother Kiah, 10,
toss a water balloon to each other during a game at a community picnic Sunday at Sandy Beach.

Views from city hall
Juneau City Manager Dave Palmer and Deputy City Manager Donna Pierce began working in the city manager's office in 1991. They were hired together as co-deputy city managers and have worked as a team for much of the past decade. Both will leave their positions at the end of June and plan to stay in Juneau. The Empire asked them to share some of their thoughts as they wrap up work at City Hall.

Body of girl recovered
The body of a 10-year-old girl who was swept over Ebner Falls on Friday afternoon was recovered by rescue workers Saturday morning.Brittany Mills of Kake was with a group at a picnic area on Perseverance Trail at about 12:30 p.m. Friday when she fell into the rushing current.
The group of eight children and two adults were visiting Juneau for the Southeast Assembly of God Youth Camp that begins today and ends Wednesday. They arrived two days early from Kake, a community of about 700 people on Kupreanof Island, about 95 miles southwest of Juneau.

Crabs in depths are different
Red king crabs, the kind people normally eat, live in waters up to 150 feet deep. Next month when Juneau scientist Tom Shirley descends as deep as three miles below the surface of the Gulf of Alaska, he and his fellow investigators will see some bizarre cousins to the familiar crabs.

Subsea mountains harbor strange life
Off the coast of Alaska, giant spider crabs 7 feet across crawl between submerged mountains the size of Mount Fairweather.In a few weeks, Juneau scientist Tom Shirley will be taking a tiny submarine and diving as deep as 15,000 feet below the surface of the Gulf of Alaska, part of an ocean exploration project studying a range of undersea mountains and the strange life forms that inhabit them.

Marvin Kemp Borgmier
Longtime Juneau resident Marvin Kemp Borgmier died Friday June 7, 2002. He had been a popular actor and director in Alaska for 25 years. There will be a celebration of his life for his life for his many Juneau friends in July.

My Turn: What makes Alaskans unhappy?
To hear some politicians, editorial writers, columnists and letter-writers tell it, Alaskans are unhappy. We are told it's about state finances, subsistence, schools, environment and up to a dozen other things that could be fixed if we "throw the rascals out."

Ditch Dilemma
Colby Shibler walks the Treadwell Ditch Trail, pointing out work that needs to be done.Where the historic pathway crosses a greening stretch of muskeg meadow, the trail crew foreman wonders how much gravel would be needed to fill a boggy section.
"These peat pits are so endlessly deep," he says, shaking his head.

Photo: Triple catch
Zac, Margie and LaVon Keely show off three king salmon caught June 7 in Auke Bay aboard the boat The Big One, captained by Kevin and Cindy Burchfield.

Fish Report
The king salmon catch rates in the Auke Bay and Point Bishop areas continue to drive down the average number of hours it takes to land a keeper.

It's a plant-eat-bugs world out there
Rain or shine there's always plenty to look at in Southeast Alaska. But sometimes it's fun to wrest your eyes from snow-capped mountains and vistas of blue water, and turn toward the small dramas that take place every day practically beneath our feet.

Kayaking around Douglas Island
Eleven enthusiastic kayakers carefully carried the seven single and two double kayaks along with hundreds of pounds of gear down to a gravel bar well above the waters edge. The sun was warm, the air and water were calm, and the smell of sunscreen overpowered the odor of low tide.

Hamey named to state basketball squad
JUNEAU - Juneau-Douglas High School basketball player Bryan Hamey has been named to the 2002 Team Alaska Squad, which will be the host team for the Great Alaska Summer Shootout next month in Anchorage.

International team shatters Kluane mark
HAINES - The conditions couldn't have been better for the 10th running of the Kluane-Chilkat International Bike Relay, so it came as no surprise when the team Bleeding Seabird Flavour shattered the course record on Saturday.

Fore-d! Tourney recalls former president's visit
For Tom and Koggie File and their Mendenhall Golf Course, June 19, 1990, is an epochal date. It was the day Gerald Ford came to visit. Oh, and a former British prime minister stopped by, too.

Cruise lines deal to skirt tax
The major international cruise lines that float by Yakutat are hoping to stave off a tax by buying some fish.Since last year, Yakutat has been trying to tax the cruise ships that enter Yakutat Bay en route to Hubbard Glacier.

Experts worry glacier may close off fjord
The advancing Hubbard Glacier near Yakutat is precariously close to blocking Russell Fjord, according to scientists who have been monitoring the area in recent days.

Klawock: City project will raise totem poles
The city of Klawock will raise three, possibly four totem poles, during a four-day event scheduled for Aug. 29 to Sept. 1. This is the first pole-raising of the Totem Pole Re-Carving Project, which proposes to replace two poles each year until all poles have been recarved.

Kodiak fishermen agree on price
Kodiak salmon fishermen began fishing Sunday, ending a five-day stand down after signing a contract Friday with a local processor.

Petersburg: Police seek burglars
Police are looking for the person or persons responsible for burglaries at Hammer and Wikan's Lil' Hammer convenience store and at Trading Union's hardware store on May 30.

Analysts: AK missile site won't be a target
Alaskans who see a missile defense system as a high-profile target more than a high-tech security blanket shouldn't worry, according to analysts from a couple of Washington, D.C., think tanks.